Taylor, TX Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Sec. 28-31 opens by declaring the purpose of Taylor's tree preservation article: protecting existing, healthy, desirable trees and setting guidelines for planting new ones. It then names the protected list by common name rather than by size or age alone, so any qualifying species is covered once it reaches six inches in diameter measured 24 inches above grade, regardless of how old or ordinary the individual tree is. Two Maple varieties, Boxelder and Silver Maple, are carved out of the Maple protection, and Silver Maple also appears separately as a prohibited invasive tree in appendix B under Sec.

28-33. The list matters beyond the removal permit in Sec. 28-31(3): the tree inventory required with any development application must identify the location, species, and DBH of every protected tree on the site except those specifically exempted, and mitigation after removal is measured against the caliper inches of the protected tree that was lost. Species not on the list, common ornamentals and fast-growing shade trees among them, can generally be removed without a permit under this section, though they may still count toward a site's general landscape credit under Sec. 28-29(c) if left undisturbed.